Rally: Loeb wins 4th consecutive World Championship; Grönholm comes in second in farewell race and in overall points

print this

The World Rally season ended with mixed emotions. The concluding Wales Rally GB finished with two rejoicing figures on the podium accompanied by one whose feelings were more on the bittersweet side.
      Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen (Ford) achieved a handsome victory in the rally, raced in difficult foggy conditions. His fellow countryman and teammate Marcus Grönholm, in turn, came in second in the season’s final race as well as in the WRC overall standings.
      Grönholm lost the World Championship by a mere four points to the Citroën pilot Sebastien Loeb, whose assured driving over the weekend guaranteed the Frenchman third place in the Wales Rally GB and his fourth consecutive World Championship.
      For Grönholm the rally in Wales marked the end of an illustrious rallying career that included two World Championships and 30 victories in 150 WRC races.
      "I do feel somewhat nostalgic", the 39-year-old Finn summarised his sentiments.
     
Grönholm’s co-pilot Timo Rautiainen, on the other hand, retired from the business even before the final race was over.
      "A few turns before the finish I asked Marcus if it was OK that I threw away the map. By all means, was his reply", Rautiainen told the press, while standing in the rain next to the duo’s Ford waiting for the start of the award ceremony.
      Throughout the race, Grönholm’s driving was uncustomarily careful. The Finn wanted to ensure he would finish the race, just in case Loeb made a mistake or suffered from a technical problem. Surprisingly, Grönholm still landed in 2nd spot, only 15 seconds behind the winner, Hirvonen.
      "At least I will no longer have to drive here in rain, fog, and mud", Grönholm commented.
     
Grönholm more or less lost his chances of winning the World Championship for the third time in the previous race in Ireland, where he crashed out and retired from the race while in third place.
      "Surely that was the most regrettable mistake of my career. I am not even sure of what caused the mishap", Grönholm sighed.
      Apart from one exception, a victory on icy asphalt in Monte Carlo, all of Grönholm’s 30 career victories came from gravel races. The double World Champion never topped the podium after a pure tarmac rally, though he came close more than once.
      "No, that does not bother me", Grönholm stated.
     
"One of the highlights of my driving career was the factory contract with Peugeot in 1998”, Grönholm reminisced. The two World Championships were the fruit of this collaboration.
      His last two seasons with Ford were also enjoyable, even if Loeb was slightly faster both times.
      "It’s good to move onto other things, as I quit rallying while on top”, Grönholm said.
      Even during his last season Grönholm won five WRC events.
     
Both Grönholm and Rautiainen may well continue in the rally world on the public relations side. As a co-pilot, Rautiainen took part in 142 WRC races, which earns him the all-time number two accolade.
      For Loeb, coming in fifth in the final race would have sufficed in guaranteeing him his fourth consecutive World Championship, even if Grönholm had won.
      "This was the toughest season of my career, so I feel fantastic", rejoiced the Frenchman, who is one of only two men to have won the Rally World Championship four times in a row. The other is Finland’s Tommi Mäkinen.
     
For Hirvonen, victory in Wales was his fourth career victory at the WRC level and the third this season. He finished in a comfortable third in the year's standings, behind Loeb and his teammate Grönholm.
      "The season was great and my speed improved towards the end", the Finn said, clearly pleased with the way things turned out. He will be taking on the mantle of Finland's top driver in the sport next season.
     
Another Finn, Jari-Matti Latvala (Ford), continued his positively surprising performances. During the final two days, Latvala clocked the fastest times on all ten woodland special stages. Overall, he only finished tenth, for a broken windscreen wiper slowed him down on Friday.
      Friday excluded, Latvala was the fastest driver of the weekend, despite the fact that the Ford he drove was a year-old model! He is one to watch in 2008.
     
In the final points standings, Loeb won with 116 to Grönholm's 112, with Mikko Hirvonen third on 99 points. Jari-Matti Latvala finished in 8th place with 30 points.
      Ford gained some consolation for missing out on the drivers' title by taking the manufacturers' championship by a fairly clear margin from Citroen. Subaru finished third, a respectful distance behind the top two.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Loeb´s victory in Ireland silences Grönholm (19.11.2007)
  Double rally world champion Marcus Grönholm to quit WRC after this season (17.9.2007)

Links:
  WRC

Helsingin Sanomat